Structure formed of joined panels



Nov. 18, 1969 J. M. MARATECK EI'AL 3,479,070

STRUCTURE FORMED OF JOINED PANELS Filed May 22. 1967 v :4 FIG. 3 sixINVENTORg United States Patent 3 479 070 STRUCTURE FORMED 0F JOINEDPANELS Jack M. Marateck, 785 Mace Ave. 10467, and Harold Marateck, 1075Nelson Ave. 10452, both of Bronx,

Filed May 22, 1967, Ser. No. 643,016 Int. Cl. F161) 7/00, /00, 9/00 US.Cl. 287-20.92 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present inventionrelates to structures assembled from panels, as wooden, metal or plasticpanels, such as articles of furniture, display counters or cases, orbuildings, particularly of the knock-down variety, and, morespecifically, to the joints connecting such panels.

It is an object of the present invention to provide on panels forstructures means for joining them to one another which are relativelyeasy and economical to produce.

It is another object of the present invention to provide means forforming joints between panels, of the character described, that may beprovided on individual panels, in knock-down state, that may be quicklyand easily joined to one another, to form a structure, either at pointof production or at point of use, and will form strong, sturdy andaccurate joints between connected panels.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide joint-formingmeans on panels for structures of the character described that may bereadily disassembled and reassembled, to thereby make possible the readyreplacement of individual panels of the structure and avoid any need fordiscarding an entire structure because of damage or defect in or to asingle panel.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide ajoint-forming means on panels for structures of the character describedwhich will inhibit the warping of the panels, both while in knock-downstate as well as when in assembled state.

It is a still further object of the present invention to providejoint-forming means on panels, of the character described, that provide,when the panels are assembled with one another, joints that areconcealed from the outwardly facing and generally visible sides of theassembled structure, to thereby make possible a neat and attractiveassembly.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the structures of thepresent invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled inthe art from the embodiments of the invention more or lessdiagrammatically shown in the accompanying drawings and from thedescription following. It is to be understood, however, that suchembodiments are shown by way of illustration only, to make theprinciples and practice of the invention of an assembled structure, inthe form of a drawer, embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, view taken on the plane of line 2-2of FIG. 1; partly in section to clarify structural details;

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged section, taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through a modified form of jointof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, elevational and partly sectional view ofanother modified form of joint of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the plane of line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Referring now in greater detail to the accompaying drawing, and withparticular reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, there is shown adrawer, generally designated as 10, made though not necessarily so, ofwooden panels which include a relatively thick front panel, 12, a pairof relatively thinner side panels, 14, and a rear panel, 16. The panels12, 14 and 16 may be preformed for shipment in knock-down form, to beconnected or joined and set up at a point of delivery. For the purposeof convenient joining of the panels, the relatively thinner panels 14may each be formed with a slot, 18, extending inwardly from its frontend face, 19, which is to abut panel 12, which slot may open into thebottom face 20, of panel 14, as shown in FIG. 2, but, preferably,terminate a predetermined distance short of its top face 22, as moreclearly seen in FIG. 6 of the drawing.

An angle-plate or bar, generally designated as 24, preferably of sheetmetal, has one of its sides, as 26, snugly fitted in slot 18 and securedin place therein, as by one or more rivets, 28, or other suitable means,passing preferably through preformed, registering openings in the sidesof the slot 18 and angle-plate side 26. The other leg or side 30, of theangle-plate is offset at right angles to leg 26 and may be made to lieflush with the end face 19 of panel 14 by cutting away the underlyingportion of the slot side to the desired depth. Angle-plate leg 30 may beprovided with spaced, screw-receiving openings, 32, for admission ofscrews or other fastening devices suitable for the purpose, for securingpanel 14 to the front panel 12, as hereafter more fully explained. Asimilar slot, 34, may be formed in the other end and face 36, of thepanel 14, into which the leg, 38, of an angle-plate similar to orresembling angle-plate 24 may be inserted and secured in place; theother leg, 40, of such angle-plate, being provided with one or moreopenings, 42, through which wood screws, 44, or other suitable fasteningmeans, may be inserted for securing the rear panel 16 to the side panel14,

It will be apparent that the presence of angle bar legs 26 and 38 in theend slots 18 and 34 of a panel such as 14 not only serves to providemeans for securing the side panel 14 to the front and rear panels, butalso serves to inhibit the warping of panel 14, to thereby make possibleaccurate assembly of these panels, even after prolonged storage, and,when used as drawer sides, to maintain the drawer in freely moving statewithin its receiving opening.

Front panel 12 may be secured to leg 30 of angle-plate 24 directly, asby wood screws, or the like, extended through openings 32, in the samemanner as rear panel 16 is secured to the other angle-plate. Preferably,however, to provide a sturdier connection and stronger joint, that maybe readily formed and as readily taken apart, and also to inhibitpossible warping of panel 12, the latter may be provided at each endwith a transversely-formed T-groove whose narrower or leg portion 46,opens into the inner or abutment face, 48, of panel 12, with its widerpart, 50, inwardly disposed. The T-groove opens into the bottom face,52, of panel 12 and extends across the panel, to terminate preferably ata predetermined distance from its top face, 54.

An elongated metallic, such as steel, channel member of substantiallyrectangular cross-section, generally designated as 56, is inserted intothe wider part 50 of the T- groove through its opening in the bottomface 52 of panel 12 and is preferably frictionally held in placetherein, with the channel inwardly facing. The back, 58 of channelmember 56 is provided with spaced openings, 60, that are exposed throughthe narrow groove portion 46. Self-threading screws, 62, may be insertedthrough the openings 32 in the leg 30 of angle-plate 24 and secured inthe channel member openings 60, to thereby join panel 12 to panel 14.Preferably, the screws 62 are of such thickness and length that inaddition to forming threads in the openings 60 and being engagedthereby, they also extend inwardly to engage into the wood of panel 12,thereby stabilizing the screws 62 against any twisting movements whichmight loosen them in place. Other means, in place of screws 62, may, ifdesired, be used to connect angle-plate leg 30 to channel member 56.

-In FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, there is shown modified joint-formingmeans for securing panel 12 to 14. This consists in the transversechannel, 64, formed on the inner face 48 of panel 12, in which may beset a plurality of screw sockets 66, engaging the screws, 68, extendedthrough the openings 32 formed in angle-plate leg 30.

In FIG. 4, there is illustrated still another joint-forming means,particularly useful for a pair of structural panels, as 70 and 72, bothof which are of substantial thickness. Such means comprises a T-groove,74, formed in the facing sides of each of the panels 70 and 72, intoeach of which is set a channel member, 76, having screw-receivingopenings, as in channel member 56; the two panels 70 and 72 being joinedby an angle-plate, 78, whose two sides are each provided withappropriately-positioned and spaced openings through whichself-threading screws, 80, may be inserted, to engage in the openings ofthe channel members 76.

This completes the description of the method and means of the presentinvention for forming joints between panels of structures. It will bereadily apparent that the means for forming the joints may be easily,conveniently and economically provided and that such means make possiblethe shipment and storage of the panels for the structure, withjoint-forming means in place, in knockdown state, for assembly andsetting up at a place of final destination, to thereby make possiblegreat economies in shipping and storage space.

It will be likewise apparent that the structural panels or units of thepresent invention may be quickly and easily assembled into a structurewithout the need for skilled labor; that the joint-connected panels willbe strong and sturdy, but nevertheless readily disconnectable for thereplacement of any panel when required.

It will be additionally apparent that the joint-forming means of thepresent invention also serve to inhibit the warping of panels duringstorage or at any time thereafter, to make the assembly of the structureeasier and more accurate and to render the assembled structures durableand serviceable for longer periods.

It will be further apparent that numerous modifications and variationsmay be made in the structures of the present invention by anyone skilledin the art, in accordance with the principles of the inventionhereinabove set forth, and without the exercise of any inventiveingenuity. We, desire, therefore, to be protected for any and all suchmodifications and variations that may be made within the spirit of theinvention.

What we claim is:

1. In a structure including a pair of panels disposed at an angle to oneanother, means joining said panels to one another, comprising an anglebar, means securing one side of said angle bar against a face of one ofsaid panels, said means comprising a groove formed in said one panelinto said face thereof, fastening means in the form of a screwthreadedly engaging socket means held within said groove, at least oneopening formed in said one side of said angle bar, said fastening meanspassed through said opening and engaged in said socket within saidgroove, and means engaging the other side of said angle bar to the otherof said panels; said groove in said one panel being of T-shape anddisposed with its narrow section opening onto said one face of said onepanel, said socket comprising a channel-shaped member inserted into thewider portion of said T-shaped groove, said channel-shaped memberincluding a base portion and a pair of generally parallel flangeportions each extending from one side of said base portion, the width ofsaid base portion and the transverse extent of each of said flangeportions substantially corresponding to the width and height,respectively, of said wider portion of said T-shaped groove, the outersurface of said base portion facing the opening of the groove, said baseportion having spaced openings for-med therein alined with said grooveopening through which said fastening means passing through said openingsin said one side of said angle bar are engaged.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said means engaging the other sideof said angle bar to the other side of said panel comprises a slotformed in an end edge of the other of said panels, said other side ofsaid angle bar disposed within said slot, and means securing said otherside of said angle bar within said slot.

3. The structure of claim 1, wherein said other face of said angle baris secured against a face of the other of said panels and the meanssecuring said other face of said angle bar to the face of the other ofsaid panels all substantially identical with said means securing saidfirst side of said angle bar against said one face of said one panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,115,260 10/1941 Ward 287-20920X 2,572,812 10/1951 Kral 151-4173 X 2,737,268 3/ 1956 Smith.

FOREIGN PATENTS 185,033 9/ 1921 Great Britain.

RAMON S. BRITTS, Primary Examiner us. 01. X.R.

